Independent stores hope to catch the last wave of shoppers

Wednesday

Unlike the bleary-eyed salespeople who will man the big-box retailers Black Friday, owners and employees of independent stores plan to be well-rested and ready for the rush of holiday shoppers.

Unlike the bleary-eyed salespeople who will man the big-box retailers Black Friday, owners and employees of independent stores plan to be well-rested and ready for the rush of holiday shoppers.

That’s because most small-business owners don’t participate in the 4 a.m., door-busting deals that are offered at Wal-Mart, Best Buy and the like. At most they’ll open an hour early and stay open a bit later, but their crowds tend to come after shoppers have done the early-morning deals and are in their second wind.

“I would call it an average morning, but by 11 a.m. we pick up,” said Kim Aulenbacher, owner of Zazu Gift Co. “Being in Roscoe, if people are going to the big-box stores, they’re coming here on their way back.”

Aulenbacher is open her normal Friday hours — 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. — and is hiring only a few part-timers to get her through the holidays. She is offering sales on her most popular gifts through this weekend.

“It’s a very good day,” she said of Black Friday. “It gets into our top five or 10 days. It’s not as good as it gets the week before Christmas, but it’s still better than average.”

Kat Mitchell, co-owner of Rockford boutique Roxy Carmichael said the store will open an hour earlier, at 9 a.m., on Friday.

They normally close the doors at 5 p.m., but Friday will get special treatment.

“We’ll stay open as long as people are in our store,” she said. “We’re anticipating an extra hour, but we’ll see how it goes.”

At Wonderland Toys and Books in the Edgebrook shopping center owner Erin Taylor said the store will have expanded hours on Friday with a few holiday treats available for customers.

Taylor’s inventory is stocked and her staff is ready for the holiday rush, but the store itself still needs a little Christmas sprucing.

“We will start decorating after Thanksgiving,” she said. “We just haven’t had a chance to do it before that.”

Sean F. Driscoll can be reached at (815) 987-1346 or sdriscoll@rrstar.com.

Black Friday expectations
Up to 128 million people are expected to shop this Friday, Saturday or Sunday, with low gas prices and even lower prices luring shoppers to the stores.

According to a shopping survey from BIGresearch for the National Retail Federation released Wednesday, 49 million people will definitely hit the stores while an additional 79 million are waiting to see the weekend deals before making any decisions. The total is down slightly from the 135 million people who said they would or may shop over Black Friday weekend last year.

For the first time since March 2005, the average price of self-serve, unleaded gasoline is $1.91, leaving shoppers with a little extra money in their wallets. While consumers still are expected to spend conservatively, pent-up demand from consumers who have been waiting all year long for great deals also could bode well for some retailers.

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